Looking For A Valentine
by Ze Cheshire Cat
Summary: It was everywhere. Red lanterns hanging, red crepe strewn, hearts declaring "Kiss Me!",cozy couples gazing dreamily into one another's eyes, as though nobody else existed... 'Where's my Valentine, damn it' Sakura Centered, SakuNaru.


Valentine's Day...

Not my favorite holiday, but I figured I would write something anyway.

(Favorite Holiday is Halloween!)

* * *

The strength of her frown threatened to crack her jaw. It was painful, really, just like when you laugh so hard that you can't breathe anymore... well, there was a limit to how long you could frown too.

Sakura jutted out her jaw, manuerving the bone as well as she could in an attempt to relieve the tenseness. When finished, her features reverted back into the earlier scowl.

_Today sucks. It's a goregous day and there's happiness all around and everybody's so damn giddy... it's just sucks. _

The visage of her green opticals drug over to glance towards a familiar face, that of TenTen who was gushing up at Neji. The poor girl tried so hard to capture the Hyuuga's fancy but he never really noticed. Some guys were like that... only focused upon their own shinobi atributes and jutsu maintenance. The couple reminded her of how she used to trail after Sasuke...

TenTen was as dumb as she was.

Sakura glared at the brunette who fumbled around a secret box wrapped in light blue, hidden poorly behind her. Sakura couldn't hear the girl's words, but from the blush on her face and the way she kept glancing down at her shoes gave her a good indication that Neji didn't really care about today either.

_Valentine's Day is the dumbest holiday ever. _Sakura concluded, I should figure out who made up this idiot fest and strangle them personally.

She stomped past TenTen just as she clumsily withdrew the box and offered it to her teammate. Sakura snorted loudly.

It was everywhere. Red lanterns hung from from street signs, glowing faintly with their inviting warmth. Behind the glass panes were cozy couples gazing dreamily into one another's eyes, as though nobody else existed. In a few decorative shops, red crape streamers twisted around the interior and weaved intricate designs around posterboard hearts that had cliche phrases declaring "I Love You!" and "Kiss Me!" boldly.

With all the red around, Sakura severly thought about getting a new signiture color. 'I'd look good in green...' she thought vaguely before capturing a glance of a blushing Hinata shoving a bouquet of flowers towards Kiba. The dog nin's face ignited with warmth but his toothy smile calmed the shuddering girl. He accepted the flowers, sniffing them casually before giving himself a noseful of the verdert plant. He sneezed comically and Hinata giggled. The two smiled into each other's eyes.

_'Maybe I'll shoot for yellow...'_ She looked away from Hinata and stared blatantly as Asuma poofed out of nowhere and shoved a large stuffed bear into the arms of Kurenai. Sakura's jaw dropped and she quickly turned down a different street.

_This is so stupid! Is everbody out of their minds? _

Her answer was given in the form of Jiraiya. In his hand was an unfolded ink painting of a nude Tsunade. His face was scrunched up with a flirtacious wink and his arm stretched out into a "peace" sign. "Yeah, baby, ye-ah!!" he procliamed. Her shishou signed vivaciously and shook her head sadly. She proceeded to walk towards the other sannin and simply past him. ...Usually she would have smashed his head in at least!

Sakura whailed and ran back down the street. _Everbody's gone mad!_

The pinkette was forcively pushed back as she collided with another body. She fell back onto her ass and glared up at her offender. Temari simply sneered in response. In her hand was a small box wrapped up in plain purple wrapping. Nearby stood Shikamaru. His hands were shoved into his pockets, eyes turned up to the clouds. "Watc--" Before Temari could finish, Sakura jumped up and bolted off again.

"No blue, no red. Red's everywhere, it's everywhere!" Sakura fumed as she paced down the streetway. Glaring at the pavement, she fumed onward. "No green, no yellow, purple sucks." Sakura's fingers clenched painfully and she exhaled loudly. "How about nude!?"

"You're so lewd."

Sakura glared at the speaker, practically snarling at Sai. The dull boy vaguely returned her gaze with not even a fraction of the heat of her own. "I said nude, dumb ass." He shook his head sadly. "Ugly people shouldn't go around nude. It's damaging to those who have to watch." he retorted. Her fingers twitched with the desire to break his neck, but not even that should rid herself of the boy. He was like cancer... only that cancer was more enjoyable. "Just shut up, you prick."

"Huh?" Just then Ino's head popped out of the doorway. Only then Sakura realized where she was. The Yamanaka flower shop was full of hearts and flowers and shiny balloons. The blonde stepped out into the street, her arms full of partially wrapped roses.

"How are ya, forehead? Isn't today just great? Everbody's so lovey-dovey. Ahh, it just warms your heart, doesn't it?" Her lips pulled apart in a toothy grin. Sakura frowned at the girl and shrugged her shoulders. "It's just another day, no different from yesterday or tomorrow." She replied. Ino gasped and huffed. "Hardly! Today is the day of lovers! I mean, I'd be out there with my man if there wasn't so much work today," then sticking her tongue out she added, "plus it makes for great profit." She laughed.

"That's stupid. You're just out for the money... you don't even have a man." Sakura glared into the pavement at Sai's feet, mentally wishing she could shoot laserbeams and set his toes on fire just for her amusement. To her left, Ino coughed audibly. "Just you wait, if Sasuke was here... I'd have him drooling in the palm of my hand. I'm the queen of Valentine's Day. Everbody comes to me for advice on how to snag their crush."

At this, Sai chuckled. "Who'd come to an ugly like you for information how to fix their love life? You couldn't get Sasuke if you wanted to." He grinned deviously at her. Ino leaned toward the boy, tilting her head up at his face with an ominous leer. She snapped her teeth a breath away from his ear and laughed against his face. "Then you'll just have to be my date for the day, won't you?"

Sakura quickly turned on her heel and began to make her escape. Behind her, she could hear Sai grunting and rubbing at his face exageratively. "By the way, Sakura! Have you seen Naruto?" Ino called. Sakura shook her head no but didn't pause to stop.

I bet even Naruto has his own date...

Sakura shoved her key into her apartment door and shoved it open. Striding into her home, she threw her bag into the nearest chair and slammed the keys to the floor. Her thoughts returned to TenTen, who even though Neji didn't even consider a girl, still attempted to confess her love for him. She thought of the shy, trembling Hinata who mustered enough courage to confess to Kiba and how the awkward two had stared at each other with such longing... like it was just right for them to love on another. She thought of Shishou and that vulgar pervert... They had been friends forever and always cared for each other no matter how... _weird_ they were. She shuddered at the thought. Her head dropped and she inhaled a painfully cold breath.

She thought about Ino and Sai, who even though they didn't have any love interests, still found a emotional comfort within someone else. They didn't cringe at the sight of other people's happiness, so why should she?

"Where's my Valentine, damn it?" Tears pushed through her eyelashes. She pinched her nose, refusing to cry over such a inane reason. Valentine's Day was the dumbest thing ever. It was just an excuse to give money to people like Ino so that she could finally get that bonus and buy herself that cute dress that she had been wanting forever. It was a stupid day to remind married couples why they even got married in the first place. The day was practically an obligation to say "I love you" to someone, weither you really did or not.

"I want to hear it..." she admitted softly. "I want somone to tell me that they love me, that they care for me. I want someone to hug me and want to be with me! I want someone to give me flowers and pop out of nowhere for a suprise kiss, even if just for a moment between shifts."

"Everbody's so damn happy, except me, why me?" Her knees crumbled beneath her. She pressed her hands against the floor and stared at the blurred tile. Her nose sniffled. She could already feel the burn pushing up through her throat.

"Why doesn't anyone love me? I mean... if someone like Sai and Ino could get together, what's so wrong with me?!" Her head banged against the tile in exasperation. "What have I done so badly?" Her tears slowly formed a puddle in front of her nose and sobbed silently. She thought about Sasuke, and if he was here that he would have given her a rose. If Sasuke were here, he would have snuck up behind her and given her a hug and kissed her by suprise. He would have whispered a few sweet nothings in her ear before running back to training... He would have...

He would have spit in her face for even imagining such an inane thing. He would have laughed in her face then give her the rope to hang herself by.

It was better that he wasn't around so she wouldn't make a fool of herself like she used to. Maybe that was her problem... people still thought of her as the "girl that Uchiha abandoned." Sakura hissed at the thought and punched the floor. "Sasuke didn't abandon me... he never liked me in the first place!"

Sakura pushed herself up from the floor and glared into her kitchen. She should stuff herself with icy happiness. Shuffling to her feet, she strode towardes her icebox with determination of chocolate fudge ice cream and sappy romance movies until she could vomit at the mere mention of Valentine's Day.

Just as her hand clenched the handle, but paused as a flash of red flickered in the peripheree of her vision. Sakura's neck jerked to face the offensive color only to startle herself with the object. A skinny vase sat upon her counter. In it were three single roses.

Sakura strode over to the object, scanning it over for any sort of indication of who could have placed it in there... Her door had been locked when she came in, hadn't it been?

Finding no card, she tentively picked up one of the roses and brought it to her nose. She inhaled the sweet scent. An involuntary smile creeped across her face. She took the rose with her and headed for her bedroom. Movies, she reminded herself. The ice cream skipped her mind as she trodded down the hallway. Her hand grasped upon the doorknob of her room and stared at the door being ajar. She always closed her door...

From inside she could detect the soft sound of... purring? Her brow furrowed in confusion. 'That has to be a pretty big cat... but how the hell did it get in?' She slowly turned the knob, silently allowing herself into her room.

Her eyes scanned the interior, but there were no cats. Puzzled over that, she swung the door open completely and frowned at the room. Her nightclothes were still scattered about the floor from early this morning. Her panties were out in the open, for Pete's Sake!

She was about to pick up the said article of clothing when she heard it again. A distinct purring noise coming from atop her bed. Her eyes trailed over her bed, widening as she took in the view.

A leafpile of rose petals were scattered across everywhere. They were tossed about carelessly and littered her floor immensely. They trailed thier way up to atop the bed comforter that she had forgotten to make in her haste earlier. Upon the comforter was a figure in garish orange, snoring loudly for the entire neighborhood to hear. She honestly wondered how she could not have heard it before.

_What kind of fucked up purring is that?_

Sakura tip-toed closer to the figure and identified it to be none other than Naruto. The blonde had passed out in her foom, his body sprawled messily atop her bed. ...Her bed... Her bed... _What is he doing in my room?!_

Sakura's fist raised and she sucked in a large breath to scream at him but her breath caught. One of his arms was slung across her pillows in an awkward heap but the other was clasped tightly to his chest. In his fingers, he clutched a large, velvet box in the shape of a heart. On the case of the box was her name..._ 'decorated with his sloppy attempt to draw hearts and my face. He should take lessons from Sai.' _Even so, her frown pulled into a smile and she could feel her face burn.

The blonde was slumbering peacefully, his breaths making his chest rise and fall in a steady pace. He twisted lightly in his sleep but never once did the box move. He unconciously clutched it protectively against his heart. She doubt she could have pried it from his fingers even if she wanted to.

Stepping to her bedside, she leaned over and placed a gentle palm against his cheek. At the touch his eyes fluttered openly. His other arm wiped groggily at his face and he yawned. Blinking painfully at the light, he smiled in notice of her presence. "Morning, Sakura-Chan..." he mumbled quietly. He stared up at her happily and made a joyful purring noise. "Naruto, why are you in my bed?" she questioned. That caused his eyes to jerk open completley and he quickly sat up. Bolting forward, he winced at the sudden movement and hissed. "Oww..." he whined painfully. He pressed a hand against his brow then glanced into his lap. The large heart there seemed to remind him of the reason for his intrusion. "Oh yeah! I wanted to tell you Happy Valentine's Day!" He shoved the box into her hands. "It's chocolate! ...although I got kind of hungry waiting for you so I ate a few, but only the caramel ones because I know you hate those."

Actually, caramel was her favorite but couldn't bear to tell him that. The sleepiness on his face clashed with his earnest attempts to appear wide awake made it all too laughable. "T-thank you..." she whispered softly. "Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, reaching behind him. He produced a large stuffed fox in the ridiculous shade of red. In its furry paws was a velvet heart proclaiming "Kiss Me!" just like she had scorned at earlier... but this fox... it was so adorable! That and Naruto stretched out his neck, offering his cheek in expectation...

She couldn't withold the laughter. It was overwhelming. Still offering his cheek, he blinked in a puzzled fashion. "What?" he asked innocently. "You're such a goofball," she explained. He pulled back his face but puffed out his cheeks in protest. "I go and try to be nice--" she stopped him with a quick kiss to his brow. The blonde's words scrambled and he blinked abashedly up at her. A bright redness was accumulating in his face, and that too made her laugh. "You're so cute! I think I might love you!" She took the fox and smothered her face into its fur. Naruto's mouth gaped open, not quite sure which fox she meant.

Her green hues peeked out of the fox's fur to examine the blushing Naruto. Her face broke into a smile that began to hurt rather painfully. His own face reddened even more so than the toy fox.

_Red's a good color after all..._ She thought and blew a raspberry into the boy's face. He yelped slightly and blushed feverantly at the attention.

Red is definatley a good color, which was good... because she really didn't want to change her wardrobe.

* * *

In all honesty, after I wrote this... I decided that I hate it. \

I had the ending planned out nicely, but after writing the story to get to the picture-perfect ending, I just couldn't write out the great idea that I had in my head. That's what happens when you force yourself to write fanfiction if you don't have the motivation for it.

Oh well, Happy -belated- Valentine's Day. Mine was great, I got flowers and a car. 3


End file.
